when it is too hard
to stand tall,
I fold myself down
like a well-read letter,
slide my ego into
a lavender-scented envelope
and file it away in
the dresser drawer.
There in amongst
the blu-tack and dust,
the partially melted
birthday candles,
I sit patiently waiting
for my buckled knees
to lock once more
and my spine to straighten
... just a little.
Author Bio:
Shelley Nutting resides in England where she is a wife mother and community nurse. She has been writing poetry all her life but has only recently begun to share it. The strength of women at the heart of family is a recurring theme in her writing.